FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Todd Cohen, Great Outdoors Colorado, 303.226.4530

COUNTIES AND CITIES:  Adams, Dolores, El Paso, Manitou Springs, Fremont, Brookside, Canon City, Grand, Winter Park, Gunnison, Crested Butte, Jefferson, Lakewood, Larimer, Montezuma, Montrose, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Del Norte, Routt, Steamboat Springs, Teller.

DENVER – The Great Outdoors Colorado Board today awarded $500,000 in grants that will engage hundreds of youth this summer to complete vital wildfire mitigation work as well as trail construction, invasive species removal and river bank restoration. A project to help Royal Gorge Park recover from a devastating fire is among the approved grants.

GOCO has provided $1 million a year in funding for youth corps for the past three years, half of which is administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The GOCO funding provides for more than 450 jobs for youth annually.                                                                                                                                                                           

The 18 grants, which will be administered by the Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA), will deploy seven Youth Corps crews in 14 Colorado counties. Presently there are 10 CYCA-accredited youth corps in the state that each year engage and train 1,600 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 for land, water and energy conservation work.  Youth corps participants earn a living stipend for their full-time service and an AmeriCorps education award from $1,250 to $5,350 for use at college or trade school.

The new round of projects for 2014 is expected to complete:

  • 628 acres and 2 miles of waterways invasive species removal, primarily Russian Olive and Tamarisk trees which threaten native species and can lower the water table.
  • 200 acres of tree thinning for wildfire mitigation purposes
  • 11 miles of trail construction or maintenance
  • 2.5 miles of river bank restoration; and
  • A mile of fence construction.

In 2013, GOCO-funded youth corps teams cleared hazard trees damaged by fire or pests from more than 25 acres, including the fire-damaged Waldo Canyon area in Colorado Springs. They also constructed or repaired 15 miles of trails among other projects. In state parks with GOCO funds administered by CPW, youth corps tackled 30 acres of tree removal, 33 acres of weed removal and constructed more than 5 miles of trails among other projects.

This year’s grant cycle was popular as it attracted 37 applications and requested funding exceeding available monies by a 2.5 to 1 ratio.

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created by voters in 1992, GOCO has funded more than 3,500 projects in all 64 counties without any tax dollar support. The grants are funded by GOCO’s share of Colorado Lottery revenues, which are divided between GOCO, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Conservation Trust Fund and school construction.

Download the complete list of fall 2013 GOCO grant awards.

The Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) is a statewide coalition of ten accredited youth conservation corps that engage and train youth, young adults, and military veterans on land, water and energy conservation projects. Youth corps is a proven strategy for engaging young people in service to their communities and stewardship of their environment while cultivating valuable skills to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Learn more at www.CYCA.org.

PROJECT DETAILS:

ADAMS COUNTY
Russian Olive & Tamarisk
Applicant:  Adams County Parks and Community Resources Department
Mile High Youth Corps Sawyer Crew (MHYC) to remove invasive Russian olive and tamarisk in open space, publicly-owned land in Adams County.  The MHYC will cut trees and treat tree stumps with herbicide to ensure successful removal. Trees will be skidded to chippers for mulching.

DOLORES COUNTY
Upper Groundhog Restoration
Applicant: Montezuma Land Conservancy
The project is a collaboration between Montezuma Land Conservancy (MLC), landowner Aryol Brumley, and Southwest Conservation Corps-Four Corners (SCC-FC).  Brumley owns a 4,119-acre ranch protected by a conservation easement that was in-part funded by GOCO. Through the project, SCC-FC will complete riparian restoration on a stretch of Groundhog Creek that runs through Brumley Ranch. SCC-FC crews will also assist with invasive species mitigation and other tasks.

EL PASO COUNTY
Black Forest Fire Restoration
Applicant: El Paso County
The Black Forest Fire in 2013 burned 14,280 acres. Approximately 1,200 acres of El Paso County Parks land were impacted, including 272 acres or 96 percent of Black Forest Regional Park. Youth Corps will construct erosion control structures from burned trees, complete soil stabilization improvements and reseed severely burned areas to promote healthy watershed function and protect downstream infrastructure.

Iron Mountain Fire Mitigation Project
Applicant: City of Manitou Springs
The project entails a continuation of fire mitigation started in 2013 on 20.5 acres of Iron Mountain Open Space that consists of steep slopes with extremely dense underbrush and tree fuels. Work will remove ladder fuels (vegetation that hangs down low or touches the ground) cut dead snags, thin underbrush with the intent of creating more natural tree stands. The project will also create a fire break to better defend the city, will enhance views and support healthier habitats for wildlife.

Iron Mountain Trail
Applicant: City of Manitou Springs
Construction of the final 0.65 mile of the Iron Mountain Trail, a new multi-use non-motorized single-track backcountry/urban interface trail that passes through the mountain backdrop of Manitou Springs. This trail is also part of two regional trails: the Paul Intemann Memorial Nature Trail, a five-mile trail connecting Manitou Springs to the Red Rock Canyon Open Space of Colorado Springs, and the regional Ring the Peak Trail, which circumnavigates Pikes Peak.

FREMONT COUNTY
Spring Creek Medium Trail Restoration
Applicant: Town of Brookside
Youth Corp will repair flood damage to this steep trail that consists of finely crushed rock, bordered with native stone, and includes stone steps, water bars that divert runoff, stone catchment pans and a culvert.  Project will include creating more stone water pans and water bars across the trail, creating better water diversions away from the trail, replacing the crushed stone that washed away, and sloping the trail to shed water more quickly.

Royal Gorge Wildfire Recovery
Applicant: City of Canon City
A wildfire burned across 3,200 acres in the Royal Gorge Park in June destroying 48 of 52 structures. While the buildings were insured, there was no coverage for the environmental damage left in the fire's wake. Mile High Youth Corps in Colorado Springs will assist by doing slash and scatter, seeding, building erosion control structures, tree planting and controlling invasive weed species.

GRAND COUNTY
Arrow Trail System, Phase II
Applicant: Town of Winter Park
Youth Corps will help create a non-motorized trail system from downtown to the Idlewild Trail System that will lead through private property on public easements.  The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps constructed nearly 2.5 miles of trail on the property in 2013 and Winter Park would like to construct an additional 2.5 miles in 2014.

GUNNISON COUNTY
Baxter Gulch Trail
Applicant: Town of Crested Butte
The Baxter Gulch Trail project begins on town-owned land and travels along a series of trail and conservation easements until it reaches the Gunnison National Forest. Work on the trail began in 2011 and continued in 2012 and 2013 with GOCO-funded Youth Corps trail crews. In those three years, 1.5 miles of trail was constructed.

JEFFERSON COUNTY
Bear Creek Greenbelt Russian Olive Removal
Applicant: City of Lakewood
Bear Creek Greenbelt is a 350-acre open space park. This project will include work on 128 acres to eliminate the most densely populated areas of Russian olive infestation and improve the riparian (river or stream banks) and wildlife corridor that exists along Bear Creek.

LARIMER COUNTY
Russian Olive Eradication at Swift Ponds
Applicant: Legacy Land Trust
Legacy Land Trust, Weld County Youth Conservation Corps, Larimer County Conservation Corps and the Larimer County Weed District along with CYO, owners of Swift Ponds, have worked collaboratively to design a youth corps project to improve open space at Swift by reducing the Russian olive population.

Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Habitat Restoration II
Applicant: Larimer County Department of Natural Resources
This project continues work begun in 2013 by the Larimer County Conservation Corps to restore high quality wildlife habitat at the open space. Youth Corps crews will restore sensitive meadow habitat and mitigate wildfire fuels. The project will result in improved habitat for wildlife, improved forest health, and visitor safety.

MONTEZUMA COUNTY
Overlook Trail
Applicant: Town of Dolores
The town seeks to build a 700-foot section of trail on a recently acquired permanent trail easement that would provide connectivity between the town and adjacent Forest Service lands. Specifically, this project would provide a link to the Boggy-Draw trail system, a 40-mile, non-motorized trail that draws thousands of daily users and enhances the community’s quality of life and economic base.

MONTROSE COUNTY
Cerise Park invasive Species Removal
Applicant: City of Montrose
This project will clear 34.6 acres of invasive species -- Russian olive and tamarisk -- in city-owned Cerise Park, which is part of Baldridge Regional Park and adjacent to the Uncompahgre River in Montrose. This includes 13.8 acres of new invasive species removal and 20.8 acres of retreating growth removed in 2007 and 2008. A chainsaw and pesticide application crew from the Western Colorado Conversation Corps will perform the work.

PUEBLO COUNTY
Arkansas River Trail & Pueblo Nature Center
Applicant: City of Pueblo Parks and Recreation
The Pueblo Parks Division and the Nature/Raptor Center of Pueblo joined forces on projects that include clearing and pruning high traffic areas on the Arkansas River Trail, pruning trees in the urban forest, graffiti removal, using tree shavings to put mulch around trees, and painting playgrounds and picnic tables.

RIO GRANDE COUNTY
Lookout Mountain Park Del Norte Schools Trail
Applicant: City of Del Norte
The project will build a natural surface trail connecting the Del Norte schools to the Del Norte Lookout Mountain Park. The trail will provide safe access for school students and town residents on foot, bike or equestrian.

ROUTT COUNTY
Spring Creek Trail Reconstruction
Applicant: City of Steamboat Springs
This project will reconstruct the Spring Creek Trail to enhance trail safety, prevent erosion and protect water quality in the creek. Work will occur on a 3.5 mile section that is adjacent to the Steamboat High School, is in poor condition, experiences significant erosion, and has flood damage. Work includes constructing 40 water diversion structures, constructing 1,000 linear feet of a dirt trail, resurfacing nine bridges and reconstructing a quarter mile of washed out trail.

TELLER COUNTY
Broken Wagon Ranch Fuel Mitigation
Applicant: Palmer Land Trust
A four-week-long wildfire fuels mitigation project on a private ranch in Teller County near Divide. Work will build on and expand the impact of prior work done to create a strategic firebreak on the same ridge on public property immediately to the south. Corps members will camp on a historic ranch property.

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